An NDC First
Amadeus and United Airlines have launched Amadeus’ Airline Ancillary Services Solution using NDC-XML (v1.0) connectivity, marking the first NDC-XML solution in the travel agency channel in North America.
United’s vice-president of merchandizing and eCommerce, Scott Wilson said: “We are excited to be working with Amadeus to merchandize our Economy Plus extra-legroom seats via our travel agency partners. NDC-XML connectivity allows us to use a next-generation industry standard to effectively merchandize our portfolio of products and services to our customers.”
Amadeus’ Ancillary Service Solution is now integrated and supporting airlines to deploy ancillary services in over 95 markets worldwide. Currently, 58 airlines have signed up for the merchandizing technology, with United becoming the first to do so using NDC-XML (v1.0) connectivity in North America.
Aleks Popovich, IATA senior vice-president financial and distribution services, commented: “We welcome the introduction of this NDC 1.0 solution to enhance distribution in the travel agent channel. Technology providers play an important role in moving industry standards forward and unlocking value for airlines and their passengers. We have high expectations that by combining technology and merchandizing capabilities, the Amadeus Ancillary Service Solution will play a leadership role in the evolution of airline distribution.”
Holger Taubmann, SVP, distribution, Amadeus IT Group, stated: “We are pleased to partner with United to increase its revenue through the travel agency channel, whilst helping to meet travellers’ strong demand for its Economy Plus product. Amadeus’ technical capabilities enabled us to deliver this NDC-XML solution using our Ancillary Services Solution which seamlessly integrates into the travel agent’s booking flow.”
With this launch, Amadeus subscribers in the U.S., Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands can now book United’s extra-legroom seats for their customers. The integrated ancillary services solution provided by Amadeus enables agents to proactively offer and book United’s Economy Plus seats for their customers during the initial booking or after a ticket has been issued. Implementation planning for roll-out of the carrier’s Economy Plus seats in Amadeus’ other global markets is underway.
For more, go to http://www.amadeus.com or to http://www.united.com .
